Released jail inmate makes smashing return to slammer
EPHRATA — Apparently he didn’t want to leave.
A newly released inmate from the Grant County Jail was reincarcerated Thursday afternoon after allegedly pulling a fire alarm inside the courthouse and breaking out a window in the front door of the building.
The incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. and prompted a temporary evacuation of employees.
Ephrata police arrested Benjamin James Hayes, 49, on suspicion of first-degree malicious mischief and tampering with a fire alarm or equipment. Hayes was booked back into jail following his release earlier in the day.
“Apparently he didn’t want to be released, so he pulled a fire alarm and threw a big rock through a window,” said EPD Capt. Troy Froewiss.
A police report noted that the courthouse is a designated historic building which recently has undergone a long, expensive restoration of the front entrance area. Damage to the custom-made door window was estimated at $7,000.
After the incident, Hayes walked back to the county’s separate Law and Justice building and was in the lobby talking to Sheriff Joe Kriete and several corrections officers when Ephrata police arrived on scene.
According to the report, Hayes told an EPD officer “he wanted to go back to jail, and it was not a good idea for him to be out of jail.”
Hayes, who is currently listed as a Moses Lake resident, has an extensive history of court involvements in the King County area. In Grant County, he was initially arrested by Moses Lake police on Nov. 1 for disorderly conduct and booked into the local jail.
